


Making It Right

by cricket_aria



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: AU- Ash kept the Sea Crown's Power, Cerulean City, Friendship, Gen, May and Manaphy fix-it, Post-Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 16:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20914757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cricket_aria/pseuds/cricket_aria
Summary: Ash doesn't think it's fair that just because he was the one to put in the last crystal he's the only one who kept the Sea Crown's powers even after the temple faded away. Maybe if he gets good enough at using them he can balance things out a little.





	Making It Right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Firebull](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firebull/gifts).

> Written for the prompt:
> 
> Even long after leaving the temple and Manaphy behind Ash still has the powers of the crown. Thankfully, they only activate in bigger bodies of water. Not so thankfully, he calls over every water pokémon in the area every time he tries to train those powers.

Ash sliced through the water of the aquarium, the yellow glow around him almost impossible to see. That was the first thing he’d figured out how to adjust as he trained this new power; he didn’t need to look like a nightlight when he wasn’t accidentally getting shocked by Pikachu. Well, the second thing. The first had been how to convince his body that he didn’t need to breathe under the water.

Horseas and Finneon swarmed around him, so thick that it was hard to move without bumping into one, Tympoles struggled to keep up and Wishiwashis flicked back and forth between their school and solo forms as they tried to push their way more easily through the crowd, but he was in the small pokémon tank and there wasn’t anything there that was totally unmanageable. 

At least, that was what he thought right up until there was a massive shifting of water as a giant body forced itself into the tank with him. “_Ahhhhh_, Misty, help!” he shouted as he shot to the surface, through a space now much too small for all the pokémon teaming in it.

He heard running footsteps then a shout of “Gyarados, return!” and then Misty was leaning over the side of the tank offering him a hand out. “For goodness sake, Ash!” she told him as she helped him onto the platform at the lip of the tank, more focused on looking into the water behind him for any signs of damage than on actually checking if he were okay. “King of the Ocean? I wouldn’t call you King of the Bathtub at this rate!”

“Gee, thanks, Misty,” he said sarcastically before turning to Pikachu who was chirping worriedly at him. His tone gentled as he knelt down to rest his hand on Pikachu’s head, “Sorry for worrying you, buddy. Good job remembering not to blast the tank when Misty let Gyarados get away.”

“_Excuse_ me, I didn’t let him do anything! He was safely in his pokeball last I checked. Whatever that call is those powers of yours give out to water pokémon must even manage to reach in there.”

“…Oh,” Ash said, his face falling at the news. “Gosh, I thought that while I was back home for awhile this would be the safest place to train, but maybe not if that’s the case. You’ve barely stopped bugging me about your bike, I wouldn’t want to be the reason one of the tanks in your aquarium breaks!”

“Oh yeah, you would _never_ be able to squirm your way out of paying that one back, Ash Ketchum,” she told him, dropping to the platform beside him and letting her feet dangle into the water. “Why do you even want to learn how to use those powers so much anyway, Ash? They might make it easier to catch water pokémon, but I never would have thought controlling the sea would be your thing.”

“It’s not,” he admitted, splishing lightly at the water. Even without using the crown’s power a few Goldeen drifted up to nudge at his fingers, though maybe they just thought that a hand on the surface meant food. “It’s just not fair, you know?”

“Yeah, being able control the ocean is pretty unfair,” she agreed cheerfully, nudging his shoulder with hers. “But that’s probably not what you mean, huh?”

“It’s not fair that I’m the only one who got to keep the crown’s powers after the temple vanished again, just because I was the one who stuck that last crystal back in.” He lifted his hand, gold glinting at his fingertips to raise a small stream behind it. Even though he let it drop quickly, just that was enough that more pokémon started turning their attention toward the surface. “May and Manaphy really loved each other, Misty, and now he’s somewhere she won’t even be able to find again. It’s like, what if the Mirage Kingdom had been a mirage for real, and when Togetic decided to stay behind it faded away so you could never even visit?”

“That would have been terrible,” she said softly, pressing her hand to her heart and turning her eyes to the west where Togetic waited, far away but not entirely out of reach.

“Yeah, it would have,” he agreed. “So I’ve gotta get better at this! Because if I do than maybe I can find Samiya too, and then I can help May go visit Manaphy sometime! Because it’s way too unfair if they never get to see each other again.”

Misty gave him a considering look for a long moment, then stood and ruffled his hair. “You’re really starting to get more grown-up, huh Ash?” she asked as he sputtered and clamped his hands down on top of his head to try warding her off. Then she started to walk away, idly tossing Gyarados’ ball as she went. “You know what? I think Gyarados would benefit from some time around other pokémon that he can’t bully as easily as the ones around here. I’ll call up Professor Oak and see if he has enough room to let him visit the corral for awhile.” She paused, glanced around the aquarium, then looked back over her shoulder at Ash. “It doesn’t look like anyone else was able to get out of their tanks, so if the big guy isn’t close by than that should fix everything, right?”

Ash stared at her, hardly able to process what she was getting at until Pikachu jolted him with a tiny spark to get his mind moving again. Then he grinned wide enough to hurt his face and said, “Thanks, Misty! I think that will be just fine.”


End file.
